sewing

Recently:

• applying for jobs;
• searching for a sewing machine on Used Victoria;
• borrowing my sister’s sewing machine in the meantime;
• baking plum cake and pumpkin muffins
• finishing one Charade
• making the Artsy Clutch from Amy Karol’s Bend the Rules Sewing.

Sometimes I can be quite lazy when it comes to digital photography, so I’ll have to show you the Charade FO next time. I didn’t end up buying yarn for the Titled Duster while I was in Vancouver which ended up being quite fortuitous, since I received gift certificates for the Beehive. Also, Sarah sent me some beautiful Louet and Lorna’s Laces which I also forgot to photograph so I’ll have to show you next time.

Here’s to fall knitting!

one monkey

My knitting on the trip was one Monkey sock and I finished it shortly after we got here. It was made with Sweet Georgia yarn, in Honey Fig which I bought when I was in Halifax this past winter.

Being unemployed and all, I decided to make my own sock blockers out of a plastic place mat from the dollar store. They are multi-functional as they can be used as guides when figuring out all that math that comes with knitting.

Since finishing the log cabin blanket, which Tomma uses nearly every day FYI, I have been casting on new projects like a mad woman. I currently have a wool soaker (also for Tomma), the beginnings of a Charade sock, the second Monkey, and I’ve finally put some time into some projects that were started last fall.

Tomorrow I’m going to Vancouver and will be there until Sunday. I think I’ll buy yarn to knit this sweater that I’ve been drooling over since seeing the preview last month. On Thursday, I will turn the big 2-5, a full quarter century. It seems like the right time to start my first sweater.

hello from the island!

Hello! We made it to Victoria in one piece, with only one minor mishap involving our bike rack. Don’t worry, the bikes are still intact, but it was a terrifying few minutes when we looked in the rearview mirrors and saw only one set of tires behind.

For those of you just tuning in, my partner Silas and I just moved from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to Victoria, British Columbia.

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We left Saskatoon the evening of Tuesday August 28th after a teary goodbye in front of my old apartment building. Our dear friends Katie, Steph, Lori, and Ferron came to see us off. We were only going to Si’s parents farm that night but it was the beginning of our long epic drive towards the Pacific. Luckily, we were treated to a beautiful late summer sunset, the kind that only a prairie horizon can give you.

It was so perfect and bittersweet. I had tears in my eyes all the way to North Battleford. We made it to the farm, and got an early start the next morning at 6am. After a brief stop in Camrose to say goodbye to Sarah, we were on our way. We took a lot of photos and made a few silly videos on my little Canon.

We drove through Jasper, only stopping for gas, and saw goats and elk frolicking along the side of the highway. Everything through the Rockies was A-OK.

British Columbia welcomed us! We stopped that night in a town called Valemount, about 40 minutes past the BC-Alberta border.

The bike incident happened just outside of Kamloops. We had to pull over rather abruptly on a steep incline and readjusted the bikes. One of the brackets holding my bike frame came loose but luckily the other one held. It was fixed right up with a bit of duct tape and we were back on our way. It was the only thing that caused us anxiety on the trip, which seems pretty good. We couldn’t see out any of our back windows because the car was stuffed to the ceiling with our belongings, but that didn’t prove to be too big of a problem.

We made it to my parents’ house in Vancouver where we were stuffed full of Korean food and enjoyed a nice soak in a hot tub. Then it was off to the ferry the next morning.

And we made it! We stayed with my sister and brother-in-law that night, where finally (finally!) I got to a) meet my newest niece Tomma and b) give the log cabin blanket to her as a belated birthday gift.

I think she likes it.

So we’re here. Silas has started school and I have been enjoying visiting my sister, Dan, and Tomma every day. I am a lady of leisure these days, but the job hunt will start soon. There are more knitterly things I can share with you, but I’ll save that for another post in the very near future.